ABOVE: Bestselling, award winning, and banned author Laurie Halse Anderson reads from her new novel, Rebellion 1776, in the Big Chair at ALA in Philadelphia. Photo credit: Sage
This blog post is by Luke Luke Marquez, Events Manager (Sage & Corwin) at Sage, a Unite Against Book Bans partner.
At the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference in June, Sage sponsored Banned Books from the Big Chair in partnership with the Banned Books Coalition and Unite Against Book Bans.
2025 Big Chair Includes Exhibit & “Unlocking Equity” Resources
This year’s booth featured a thought-provoking exhibit on the impact of book bans in the United States. Librarians, authors, and educators walked through displays that highlighted the top 10 most challenged books of last year, raised awareness that 2,400+ unique titles were contested in 2024, and emphasized why they matter.
As an online compliment to this content, Corwin, our K-12 imprint, shared curated resources on our Unlocking Equity webpage. A partnership with Sage Journals, Unlocking Equity offers plain language summaries and free access to social justice research related to race and culture, language, gender identity, and behavior, wellbeing, and inclusion. The project aims to elevate awareness of the impact of censorship and bans on specific teaching practices and students.
Attendees in the Big Chair
Attendees were invited to sit on the booth’s signature oversized armchair, after engaging in the exhibit, to voice their personal experiences with book bans. Against the backdrop of growing societal and legislative pressures on the freedom to read, these testimonies felt particularly powerful.
One group of guests offered a striking metaphor. Reflecting on the fact that many challenged titles address LGBTQ+ identities, gender, and the experiences of people of color, they described these works as “medicine of the mind” – books that can, and do, save lives.
Banned Authors Share Their Stories
Several award-winning authors of frequently challenged books came to the booth, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Tiffany Jackson, A.S. King, Sarah and Ian Hoffman, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Judah Freed. We’re excited to share that clips from these visits to the Big Chair will be released on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel during Banned Books Week, October 5-11, 2025.
As part of Sage’s ongoing commitment to Academic Freedom, we believe that free expression in all forms is a basic human right. Sage organizes a yearly Banned Books Week webinar featuring researchers, scholars, and higher-ed faculty. A recording of last year’s panel, Banned Books Week: What can we do?, is available on Sage’s YouTube channel. More information about this year’s webinar is forthcoming.
Learn more about Banned Books Week 2025, which will focus on the theme “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.”
